Qualities of a fan

I was reading this piece by the Ferrett about the ways in which fans (of whatever media or genre) differ from the majority of the people who enjoy that media or genre. It's not comic-specific, doesn't even discuss comics, but there's a lot in there that applies. For example, this:

[M]ost fans fall firmly into at least one of two camps:

The very thing that makes this item bad for most people is exactly what they love (overly-convoluted plotlines, unbelievable characters, endless tweedling and riffing on guitars), or;

They’re so in love with the good stuff that they’ll ignore all the bad stuff because OMG, CAN’T YOU SEE THE GOODNESS?

I don't agree with the entirety of the article, but that first point? Yeah, that's me.

I like impossible-to-follow comic character histories (well, maybe not Donna Troy or Wolverine, there are limits, after all). I like having to know some history to get the full benefit of the story--it makes the comic-reading experience richer. I like the old Legion of Superheroes showing up in JLA; I even like Val and Luornu-1 (Una) in Countdown. I like the obscure stuff, the difficult stuff. Lots of us do; certainly most of us who blog about comics do.

I'll grant that comics don't have the same sort of greater non-fan base as movies or television do. I'll also grant that comic readers probably are made up of fans to a greater degree than they were in the past--that there are not as many casual comic readers (folks who don't follow books or characters, who just pick up a comic now and then if they're in the mood) as there used to be.

It's got to be hell, being a writer or artist trying to please a group of people, most of whom have that sort of intense connection to your product, and few of whom want the same thing. Then again, possibly pleasing the fans has had something to do with reducing the product's appeal to anyone else? In a lot of cases, comics are really no longer accessible to anyone who doesn't already read comics. You often see people talking about how to get their friends into comics, what are the most non-fan-accessible books, because the average comic isn't really for someone who isn't willing to do the work of "learning the language." I think the comic world is more closed now than it was when I was a kid. Perhaps this is a result of declining interest among non-fans, perhaps it's a cause, I don't know. It's likely that this narrowing of the perceived audience contributes to the increasing amount of fan service (of various sorts) you see in books--and the more you cater to a specific group with things that no one else will "get," the smaller the potential audience becomes.

The thing is, if you're aiming at a smaller and smaller group, you're also creating a smaller and smaller group. More than likely, you end up losing more readers than you gain. Now, I love comic books, but I grew up with them, I've loved them for forty years. If I weren't already a fan, would I be inclined to start reading them tomorrow? I don't know.

Because that's where point two comes in, the part where you love them so much you don't notice the bad. I'm easily entertained, I know this. My disbelief is readily suspended. I'm pretty forgiving of all sorts of things when it comes to my entertainment. Particularly when I'm predisposed to enjoy something, as I am with superhero comic books. It's not that I don't do critical thinking, but I don't generally do it to my comic books while I'm reading them, at least not the first time through. It's not part of the fun.